Web
and Book design, |
Click
Here to return to |
|
BY virtue of a deed
bearing the date June 3, 1756, John Erving, of Boston, sold to James Bowdoin a
lot of land bounded southeasterly in front on Beacon Street, one hundred and
thirty-seven feet; southwesterly on land formerly of the widow Rogers; and
northwesterly on land of Mrs. Middlecott, sixty-seven feet, to Mr. Lynde’s
Corner where a locust tree then stood; with a dwelling-house and other
buildings.1 Here, at the eastern corner of Beacon and Bowdoin
Streets, Governor Bowdoin made his home. John Erving (1693-1786) was of
Scottish lineage, and became one of the most prominent of American merchants.
He was Colonel of the Boston Regiment, and a member of the Governor’s Council
for twenty years. Being in sympathy with the Loyalist element in the community,
he retired from public life at the outbreak of the Revolution. His daughter,
Elizabeth, married Governor Bowdoin. In September, 1765, Colonel Erving served
on a committee to wait upon the Honorable Adam Gorden, M.P., who was then on a
tour in America. The committee was charged with felicitating his lordship, in
the name of the Town, upon his safe arrival; and was instructed to bespeak his
kind influence in favor of the Town and Province; especially in regard to the
new Parliamentary Regulations, which so nearly affected the Rights, as well as
the Trade of the American Colonies; and which had created such universal
uneasiness among His Majesty’s loyal subjects on this continent.
Again, in
April, 1776, the Honorable John Erving was chosen one of a committee to draw up
Resolutions, expressing the gratitude felt by the people of Boston toward those
patriots on the other side of the water, whose endeavors had secured the
Liberties of America by the happy Repeal of the Stamp Act.
The
Bowdoin Mansion, as well as the adjoining Bromfield house, was set back from
the street, and was reached by a flight of stone steps. A spacious garden
extended over the brow of the hill, and down its northern declivity as far as
the present Ashburton Place. The Honorable James Bowdoin, LL.D. (1726-90),
Harvard, 1745, was of French Hugenot ancestry. He was President of the
Constitutional Convention of Massachusetts, and served two years as Governor.
In the latter capacity he showed great resolution in quelling Shays’s
Rebellion. Governor Bowdoin was the first President of the American Academy of
Arts and Sciences; and from him Bowdoin College derived its name. He was
described by the celebrated traveller and patriot, Jean Pierre Brissot de
Warville, “‘a brisk little Frenchman,” who visited the United States in 1778,
as “a man of universal talents, combining the virtues of a magistrate with
profound erudition; as a public servant, he always retained the confidence of
his fellow citizens.” By his will, dated March 23, 1789, Governor Bowdoin
devised the Mansion-House estate, including a portion of the land formerly
belonging to his father-in-law, John Erving, to his son, James Bowdoin, Junior;
reserving the use of the same for Madam Bowdoin during her life.
James
Bowdoin, Junior (1752-1811), after graduating at Harvard in 1771, at the age of
nineteen, went abroad, and passed a year at Oxford University. He was with
General Washington on Dorchester Heights, March 17, 1776; and crossed over to
Boston with the Commander-in-Chief on that day, which marked the departure of
the British soldiers, and of the large company of aristocratic Loyalists who
accompanied them. James Bowdoin, Junior, was a man of wealth, liberal
education, and scholarly tastes. He gave much attention to agriculture, and to
the breeding of fine horses and cattle. In public life he served as Minister
Plenipotentiary of the United States to Spain, and as Associate Minister to the
French Court. Under his will, dated June 4, 1811, he bequeathed his works of
art, together with his library and philosophical appliances, to Bowdoin
College. The Beacon Street homestead passed to his nephew, James Temple
Bowdoin. The Bowdoin line is extinct in Boston, but the name is perpetuated in
the College, and in three public thoroughfares within the Metropolitan
District.
At one
time a keen controversy developed regarding the ownership of the estate,
between James Temple Bowdoin and the authorities of Bowdoin College. Choosing a
time when the mansion was vacant, a large body of workmen, acting in behalf of
the College, took possession of the premises and hastily constructed a
temporary wooden building. Thereupon the agents of Mr. Bowdoin proceeded to
remove the obnoxious structure; and these proceedings met with public approval,
as a distinct alleviation of the monotony of everyday life.2 On
October 27, 1843, James Temple Bowdoin, Gentleman, sold the homestead to
Theodore Chase, merchant, for $9030.30. Mr. Chase occupied the mansion for
about seventeen years; and his widow continued to reside there until her death
in 1884. On May 19th of that year, her sons, Theodore and George Bigelow Chase,
conveyed the premises to the American Unitarian Association.
The front
of the Bowdoin house has been described as having a covering of “smoothened
deal boards.” The main entrance and the window frames were ornamented with
carvings. A spacious window over the front door afforded an excellent
vantage-point for the display of a large illuminated transparency, with
suitable inscriptions, during patriotic evening celebrations or other popular
demonstrations.
1 Gleaner
Articles, No. 39.
2 Gleaner Articles, No. 39.
Click the book image to turn
to the next Chapter.